LONG POND, Pa. – Ty Dillon was still smiling as he walked into the Pocono Raceway media center early Friday morning.
The good vibes come after a near-miss winning in the Dover, Delaware, race last Sunday. Dillon led 27 laps – his previous best this season was three laps out front at Talladega (Alabama). And he held the point with 40 laps remaining before pit stop strategy mixed up the lineup and a massive pileup in overtime sealed his fate – a 14th-place finish.
“We come down pit road and my pit crew brings us out first,” Dillon, 25, recalled. “That was pretty cool. That was a really big win for them to beat a team that has won seven championships with a driver [Jimmie Johnson] who is the best there is here in NASCAR. To come off pit road first for a team like ours at Germain Racing was huge. That was just big enough.
“I just watched my brother (Ausin Dillon) win one (at Charlotte) on fuel mileage. So, I was thinking, 'Let’s back-to-back this thing, it could happen.'”
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And while things are going well for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Dillon in the present, there remain questions about his Cup future – primarily, will he join his brother Austin at his grandfather, Richard Childress’ team in 2018?
“You know that is not anything I’m prepared to talk about right now,” Dillon said. “My main focus is on Germain Racing. That is where I’m at and you know they have done a lot for me. ... It's definitely not my focus right now. I feel like now, I've gotten to where I want to be in the Cup Series and wherever my career goes from here it will go, but right now I'm focused on racing the No. 13 car for Germain Racing.”
Dillon specifically reiterated his loyalty and gratitude to team owner Bob Germain.
"Bob took a big chance on me,” Dillon said. "So, he is somebody that means a lot to me and this opportunity means a lot to me. So, that is special to me. When somebody puts their neck out on the chopping board for you, you always respect him.”
Dillon looked confident and sounded optimistic on stage discussing his recent good fortune. He remains hopeful to be a part of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year championship mix and is ranked third among the five rookie candidates.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Suarez leads Furniture Row Racing’s Erik Jones, 147-130 in the rookie standings. Dillon is on Jones’ heels with 126 points. Corey LaJoie (98) and Gray Gaulding (94) round out the class.
"I think we just had to prove it to ourselves and prove it to other people that we were a strong team," Dillon said. "We did that for sure. We got out front, led quite a few laps, probably more than anybody imagined we would."